"Wouldn't you like to go out on the edge?'' asked our tour guide. Even as I was hemming and hawing, he thrust a ticket into my hand before pointing me in the direction of the glass cube projecting three metres out from the building, suspended almost 300 metres above the ground.
It was the third day of our stay in Australia and we - a group of around 40 journalists - were on the 88th floor of the 297-metre-tall, 91-storey Eureka Tower in Melbourne enjoying a bird's eye view of the city centre. We had been invited Down Under for the launch of Panasonic's new range of Lumix cameras.
The organisers had put Eureka Tower on our must-visit list. After all, what better place to check out zoom and wide angle lenses of the new generation Panasonic cameras than from the Skydeck of the tower? Just a few minutes before this invitation to brave the edge, I was with the group at the base of the tower, awaiting the express elevators to take us to the top.
A tour guide was giving us a short talk on the tower when he stopped to ask where I was from. "Ah, Dubai? Then this must be a relatively short building to you guys, huh?'' he said, grinning broadly.
I nodded, while squinting up at the tallest tower in Victoria through a camera's view finder, trying to get a shot of the structure from a different angle. "It'd be more interesting to go up the tower and look down,'' suggested the guide, before leading us to the bank of elevators.
The Skydeck, a glass-enclosed circular viewing area, offers spectacular views of central Melbourne. At 285m, it's the highest public vantage point in the Southern Hemisphere. Thanks to the numerous binoculars fixed at various points, tourists can enjoy an up-close, top-down view of some of the city's most famous buildings.
It was while admiring a boat gliding along the Yarra river that the guide pressed tickets for the edge into my hand. I had been eyeing the edge warily while walking around the Skydeck, not too keen to step on to it.
The glass cubicle offers what can only be termed as an ‘out of this world' experience as you view the lovely city from above - provided you don't suffer from vertigo. Acrophobics, I assume, would not venture here to begin with.
Adrenaline junkies also get to experience a brief smoke-and-light show while getting their photo taken in the cubicle.
So, did I want to stand on a sheet of glass 300 metres about the ground? Of course not, but I did not want to be seen as a lily-livered chicken either. Looking for a way out, or down to be more precise, I approached a member of our group who, thankfully, was looking more nervous than me. Was he going to brave it? "Oh no," he shot back. "My job gives me my fair share of thrills every day, so I'm going to give this one a miss! Let's have a coffee instead?''
I responded to his suggestion with enthusiasm that was clearly disproportionate but getting a high from caffeine was, at that point, certainly less terrifying than standing on the edge.
On the way to the coffee shop, we passed a few of our group members proudly sporting bracelets which read: ‘I survived the edge'. I smiled politely at them and made my way across to a little souvenir shop which had in its window display pictures of tourists who had gone on the edge. Here, a collage of faces stared back at me, some with their mouths open in what must have been high pitched screams of delight or terror, others smiling as their hands high-fived, and some others grinning as they hugged fellow edgers. One face stood out because the person's eyes had expanded to the size of saucers as he stared into the camera.
To really know more about the city, most guide books suggest that you take a cruise on the Yarra River. It's a good way to take in the city's arts, culture and architectural scope. So it was a terrific bit of news that a cruise was on our itinerary.
The river, which cuts through the city, is almost always busy with cruise boats, not to mention a plethora of aquatic creatures that form small colonies in its waters.
The river was once very important to the Aboriginal people. Its name is thought to be derived from the Aborigines' term for ‘ever flowing'.
Originating in the Yarra Ranges, the river snakes through Melbourne before emptying into Hobsons Bay in Port Phillip, a tourist destination popular for its penguin population. "That's another must-visit,'' a friend told me.
On the deck, lost in observing the sights along the river, the boat captain's warning jolted my wandering mind back into the present: "Watch your head!'' We ducked just in time as the boat chugged under the Princes Bridge which, as it turned out, hung just a few inches above our heads. One of several bridges across the Yarra, it is also one of the oldest. "It was built in 1888 and connects Swanston Street to St Kilda Road - another truly pretty and culturally rich area of Melbourne,'' explained our on-board guide, a young man named Andy.
We spotted a team of women racing up the river in a kayak. "That's the Australian Olympic hopefuls,'' said Andy, before shouting out once again to us to duck as we went under the Queen's Bridge.The height of the bridges, or rather the lack of itin relation to the river's surface level, surprised me. I asked Andy if there had been any accidents. "Oh, no,'' he replied. "I warn tourists well in advance and once they've gone under one, they learn to watch out for the others."
The banks of the Yarra River boasts some of the most picturesque golf courses on the continent. There's the Studley Park Golf Course, the Yarra Bend Public Golf Course, and Kew Golf club, to name but a few. There are also plenty of parks located on either side of the river as well as countless architectural marvels to be found along the banks.
"That is the Crown Entertainment complex,'' Andy said, pointing to a towering structure that houses the largest gaming centre in the Southern Hemisphere. Then it's time to duck again as we pass under yet another low bridge. I decided it would be safer to stay on the lower deck and enjoy the view through the windows. There also happened to be hot coffee and delicious cake within reach.
Back on land and it was time for some lens talk. "How are the cameras doing?" asked one of the organisers, seeing me studying my camera. The options are so numerous I'd need more days to check them out, I said, hoping he would get the hint and extend my stay in Melbourne indefinitely. But no such luck. Instead, it was time to head towards features further down on Brighton beach after lunch at Stokehouse on St Kilda.
I ordered braised snapper with mashed potatoes. It was delicious. My colleague, who ordered steak, swore he hadn't tasted such a good one in a long time. The place was packed, with a queue forming rapidly outside. Clearly, this was a popular place and the food was telling us why. Lunch over, it was time to hit Brighton Beach - perhaps the most popular, upmarket beach in Melbourne.
One interesting feature here is that there is virtually no development on the beachfront aimed at tourists. There are a few posh homes which overlook the beach and maybe one hotel, and that's it. The rest of the beach is a pure, unspoilt stretch of yellow sand with brightly coloured beach huts dotted along its length.
As a result, it appears awash in colour and, as we stepped off the bus, it was inevitable that we got busy with our cameras.
To make it a perfect photo op, the organisers had arranged for a few lithesome models in beachwear and with parasols, to pose next to the huts. Who says photography is hard work?
It was around 5pm before we decided to head back to the hotel to get ready for the dinner at the Australian Open followed by an opportunity to watch Andy Murray vs Marin Cilic.
We were led into a chalet in the Rod Laver arena and, though the spread was lavish, I was hungry for the match.
It's not often that you get to see an Australian Open match live in the beautiful stadium.
After the mandatory photo ops in front of the arena, we trooped in. Although it was close to 8pm, the sun was still shining bright - a phenomenon I could not get my head around at the time. The stadium was packed and almost everyone was rooting for Murray. "An-dy, An-dy,'' the crowd started roaring as he came on to the court. "It's our Commonwealth link... That's why we are rooting for the English lad,'' explained an Australian colleague in response to the look on my face. Clearly Murray's popularity Down Under was big.
Years of watching sport on TV while lounging on the sofa had made me forget the shot of adrenaline of sitting in an audience and experiencing a live match. The buzz was heady. After each rally, the crowds went crazy, spurring Murray on to win.
And he did.
The match ended late. As we made our way back to the hotel, we passed the Melbourne cricket ground, where yet another group of fitness fanatics was jogging along the perimeter of the stadium. Day twoThe first session of our first day was spent indoors in a conference hall discussing the merits of the cameras, and part of the afternoon of our last day in Australia (after our trip to Eureka Tower) was spent indoors again - in an old bookstore on Victoria street in the central business district of Melbourne.
A few of us in the group had heard so much about the bookstores in this area that we couldn't help but head off to explore them.
Melbourne is inter-connected by trams. Though operated on modern lines, they hark back to a bygone era that compels your imagination to travel back in time and conjure up images of what the city must have been like as people bustled about their daily lives.
To complete the image, there were a few horse-drawn carriages trotting up and down the streets. The trams link almost all the streets in this area, such as Flinders, Collins, Spence, Market and Elizabeth. The streets are flanked by plenty of stores selling souvenirs and knick knacks, making them a magnet for tourists.
As we strolled down from the hotel located on Collins street to Victoria street, we found ourselves in the thick of people: Melburnians returning home from work, tourists taking in the city, we being part of the latter. Every once in a while we could hear the tram sounding its bell to warn people to keep off the tracks.
These quaint streets have something for everyone. Local artists display their works, street dancers do their jig, road-side gymnasts put on impromptu shows, green grocers offer samples of fresh fruit and nuts… An interesting feature about the CBD is that shares a feature common to many megalopolises - streets characteristic of a particular region of the world due to the concentration of people in it. For instance, Chinatown on Little Bourke Street has an overwhelming Chinese population and numerous stores offering products from China. This area developed some time in 1850 during the Victorian gold rush when Chinese prospectors rushed to the country in search of the yellow metal.
Then there's Victoria Street. where there's a predominantly Vietnamese feel and stores selling produce from Vietnam. There's also the Thai area, the Greek area, the Croatian area… For those looking Melburnian traditional culinary delights, specialised eateries interspersed along these streets satisfy the most demanding palate.
I stopped for a moment on Victoria Street to watch an entertaining tap dance by a little boy. I was so engrossed while watching his feet move as they clicked on the wooden platform that I did not realise that my group had moved on. Instead of playing catch-up, I decided to check out a store selling old books.
I had entered a world that is a dream come true for book lovers. The sheer number of books, all neatly arranged and categorised took my breath away. I could have spent the entire evening there. Although it was still bright and sunny outside, my watch told me that it was past 8pm.
Spending three days in Melbourne, one of the world's most livable cities, left me with a new perspective on living. The people's emphasis on sport, fitness and leisure; the unhurried lifestyle; the city's focus on development even while preserving cultural and historical icons... these are just some of the images that refuse to fade from my mind.
"You know what?'' I told my friend. "I am going to make another trip to Melbourne soon. Three days are just not enough to experience the sights, sounds and tastes of this wonderful city.''
"I agree,'' he said. "And you know what? Next time I just might brave the edge.''
- Anand travelled to Melbourne courtesy of Panasonic
